West Ridge Academy Continues To Produce Role Models Through Their Eagle Scouts Achievement According to West Ridge Academy, the Eagle Scout is the highest possible honor that is awarded by the Boy Scouts of America. To be awarded such an honor, one must accomplish exemplary achievements not only in the field of scouting but also with community service, as well as demonstrate endearing qualities in leadership, organization, management, commitment, among others. To be an Eagle Scout, one must be dedicated and committed enough to earn it, as it is far from easy to achieve. Requirements include earning a minimum of 21 merit badges and demonstrating the Scout Spirit through the implementation of extensive service projects to benefit the school, community or church which the aspiring scout has to plan, organize, lead and manage himself. When a scout completes all of the above requirements, he will then go through a board of review which will be responsible in deciding whether the scout is worthy enough to be conferred the Eagle Scout award. Among the many skills required of an Eagle Scout applicant are camping, first aid, family life, personal fitness, personal management, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communications, emergency preparedness or lifesaving, environmental science, and cycling or hiking or swimming. Since the award was introduced in 1912 by the Boy Scouts of America, only an estimated 2% of all boys who start the Boy Scouts program actually attain the rank of Eagle Scout. In light of this, the fact that West Ridge Academy has produced 60 Eagle Scout awardees in the past five years alone makes their achievement all the more impressive. West Ridge Academy is an accredited therapeutic boarding school which helps troubled teens and develops them into becoming positive members of the community through the indoctrination of the school’s spiritual and moral values which leads to a real change of heart, and not just a change of behavior among its students. In addition to their scouting program, West Ridge Academy also utilizes sports, academics, and other innovative approaches in order to treat mental, physical and spiritual issues of teens and their families. Historically speaking, many Eagle Scout awardees move on to accomplish outstanding achievements later on in life in their respective careers or fields of interest, as their training as role models for the other scouts have become very instrumental for them towards becoming actual leaders in life as well. Among the notable Eagle Scout awardees who achieved great feats in their respective fields were: Nobel Prize laureates Dudley Herschbach, Peter Agre, Robert Coleman Richardson and Frederick Reines; Neil Armstrong and forty other astronauts, including 10 of the 11 Apollo mission astronauts who have set foot on the moon; businessmen Sam Walton (founder of Wal‐Mart), J.W. Marriott, Jr. (Marriott International Hotels CEO), and Michael Bloomberg (founder of the Bloomberg media conglomerate); American President Gerald Ford; Academy Award‐winning film makers Michael Moore and Steven Spielberg, among others.
With the rate that West Ridge Academy has been producing Eagle Scout awardees over the past five years, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see one of their alumni be included in that prestigious list in the very near future.